US1614843A - Carton - Google Patents

Description

Patented Jan. 18, 1927. s

UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE.

BEGINALD B. MELLER, F ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA.

CARTON.

Application aled January 31, 1925. Serial No. 6,006.

can be readily opened without mutilatingany part of it. Y

The invention poesses other ob]ects and features of advantage, some of which ,with the foregoing will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of my invention, which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. IIt is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the showing made in said drawings and description, as I may adopt variations of the preferred form within the scope of my invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawlngs Figure 1 is a perspective vlew of the cart0n of my invention,'the stippled portions:

indicating the parts covered by the sealing material. v

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of my carton showing a modlfied form of end closure.

Figure 3 is a perspective vlew of the c arton shown in Figure 2, with the end open to show the structure.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the carton.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the carton shown in Flgure 1, with the end open to show the structure.

'- Figure 6 is a perspective view ofthe open cartonz showing another modification of the 40 invention.

Broadly my invention comprises acarton, the lateral sides of which are secured together in tubular form and have a pended iaps to form the closure for the en s. lhe

flaps on two of the oppositely disposed sldes have 'tabs which in closed position each lie against the surface of the op osite side, one on the inside and one on t e outside. When the package is filled and ready to l0 be sealed, the ends of the closed carton are passed thru a shallow bath of sealing material which not only renders the package air tight, but adhesively unites the aps in closed position. The bath' of sealing mate- Il rial is preferably so shallowthat it extends over only a portion of the tab lying on the outside, so that the uncovered end of the tab may be readil caught by the fingers and the tab stripped hack to open the package. A package sealed in this manner can'bc easily opened without mutilating an part` of the carton, so that the contents of the opened package can be protected after the seal has been roken by folding in the end flaps, which will make a tight closure, tho not a sealed one.

There are many types of packagesV now I being used, but as far as I am aware, none `of them are air tight, without the addition of an auxiliary covering o1' linin and they cannot be opened without partiay destroying them. The housewife is constantly faced with the problem of protecting the contents of partially emptied cartons, as the original containers, when opened, are frcquently torn to such an extent that they cannot subsequently be closed. My invention contemplates a carton which is air tight in itself, and which can be used to hold the product directly, or used for a container' for enclosure in a heavier carton which may be of the usual form. The carton may be made of untreated paper, but I prefer to use a paraiined paper or board. The folding `operation is simple and lends itself readily to automatic machine performance.

A carton made in accordance with my in-y vention is sufliciently strong for handling and shipping, but at the-same time is readily opened byl stripping back the tab secured upon t e side by the adhesive sealingmmaterial.

detail my invention comprises a carton having lateral sides 11, 12, 13 and 14 secured together in tubular form, and provided on each end with flaps 16, 17, 18 and 19 respectively. -The oppositely ldisposed flaps 16 and 18 may be of any suitable length and in some instances I have found it advisable to make them long enough to touch each other, as shown in Fi re 5, and in other instances it is preferab e to make them shorter. as shown in Figure 3.y The main object of these fiaps is to reinforce the lfolds adjacent the sides 13 and 11, and this `is true regardless of their leno'th. The iiap 17 is provided with a tab 21 willich is folded inwardly and rests against the inner surface of the side 14. The' flap 19 is provided with a tab 22, similar tothe tab 21, but which folds over and rests upon the outersurface of the side 12.

To seal the ends and to secure the flaps and tabs in position, the carton is closed, and held in closed position, while first one end and the other is passed thru a shallow bath of sealing material, preferably par-l aiine. .Before the carton is released it'may be moved upon a cold plate or sub'ected to a current of cooling fluid, for a su cient time to harden the sealin material, so that the flaps are adhesively eld to ether and an air tight package is formedz. I have found it advisable to gauge the de th of the sealing material so as to permit t e tab 22 to extend above the portion coated.' This facilitates opening the package, as'the unsecured end of the tab forms a convenient rip. y g The sha e of the tabs 21 and 22 as illustrated inA igures 1 and may not be de-- sirable in some cases and to meet other requirements, I provide an alternative form as shownin Fi ure 3. In this form, the flap 17 is provi ed with two tabs 31, which are-folded inwardly to lie against the inner surface of the side 14. The use of these spaced tabs offers another advantage, in that they produce a recess bordered by the ed e 32 between the tabs which permits the ready insertion of the finger end to liftthe inner flap. The flap 19 is provided with a narrow tab 33 which operates in the same manner as the tab 22, but which is less likely to catch and be accidentally opened. Another advantage of this structure lies in the fact that the blanks may be cut with greater economy of material, since the single tab of one blank lies between the double tabs of the adjacent blank.

In Figure 6 I have shown another embodiment of my invention. Frequently it is desired to have a ready discharge from a package which can be closed after the desired amount of the contents of the package have been removed. For this purpose, I partially sever a portion 36 in the inner flap 17. During the sealing step the inner flap 17 becomes fixed tothe when the outer flap 19 is stripped back, the partially severed portion adheres to its inner surface, thus forming an aperture in the closed inner flap thru which the contents of .Well to the manufacture of my outer flap so thatthe package may be discharged, without opening the inner flap. After the desired amount of the contents of the carton have been removed and the package closed a close contact is made between the two flaps so that a higher degree of protection to the remainin contents of the package is offered than has en heretofore possible.

Paraiiined board lends itself particularly carton, as the paraiiine on the' board has, a tendency to coalesce during the sealing process, so that the inner flaps as well as the outer flaps are sealed. This inner sealing greatly aids and strengthens the air tight end and, due to the thinness of the coat of parailine, the seal is readily broken and opened without mutilating the carton.

I claim:

1. A folded carton having an vend flap the end ,of which forms a tab overlying one of the lateral side portions of the carton, and

`a coating of sealing material over the end flap and a portion ofthe tab for holding the Hap and tab in position'and forming an air tight end.

2. A package vcomprising opposite side portions each having an extension forming an end flap and a tab, the tabs on the end flaps lying against the surfaces of the side portions, one on the inside and one on the outside, and a sealing material closing the exposed joints and forming the sole means for holding the outer flap in position.

3. A folded carton having an end flap the end of which forms a tab overlying one of the lateral side portions of the carton, said end flap lying Wholly without said carton, and a coating of sealing material over the end flap and a portion of the tab for holding the flap and tab in position.

4. The method of sealing and retaining a folded carton in folded form which comprises passing the folded portions of the carton thru a shallow bath of sealing material while holding the folded portions in position, 'and permitting the sealing material to harden before releasing the carton.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. v

REGINALD B. MELLER.

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